


Isolating a Variable

by MCUsic_to_my_ears



Series: Making Our Way Home [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Awesome Jarvis (Iron Man movies), BAMF JARVIS, Brian Banner's A+ Parenting, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Feels, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Banner Angst, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Bruce Banner Hulks Out, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bruce Banner-centric, Depression, Feels, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Insomnia, Intentional Isolation, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) is a Good Bro, Kinda, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Minor Bruce Banner/Tony Stark, Night Terrors, Nightmares, POV Bruce Banner, POV Hulk, POV Tony Stark, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Protective Tony Stark, Sad Bruce Banner, Science Bros, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark-centric, but only if you want it to be that way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-24 12:11:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7507831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MCUsic_to_my_ears/pseuds/MCUsic_to_my_ears
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a horrific nightmare, Dr. Bruce Banner is seconds away from losing control of his panic and becoming the Hulk. That leaves Tony Stark to try and help his friend keep control of himself, and in turn stay in the tower. </p><p>Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide, panic attacks, past abuse</p><p>Complete</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide, panic attacks, past abuse-- please stay safe!

"Sir," Tony shot up from the bed, his breath hitching as he heard a note of urgency in his AI's voice, even if he was just imagining it at this late hour. "Dr. Banner's heart rate has just reached 100 and shows no signs of slowing down, nor does it seem Dr. Banner is aware" JARVIS explained, his pace a bit faster than normal, although Tony was likely the only one who could notice if he weren't alone in the tower with his favorite nuclear physicist. "What's happening J?" the engineer asked. There was a pause from the AI, "Dr. Banner appears to be having a nightmare." Tony was already out of his bed and slamming into the elevator. "You think this is going to turn into a code green?" he asked as the elevator sped him down several floors. "I cannot tell, sir." It was different from the AI's usual 'Unknown, sir,' and it made Tony anxious. He had been working very hard to get his friend comfortable in his tower. He'd already stopped him from running away to some third world country twice, and the engineer knew that if Bruce Hulked out tonight, there was no stopping him from leaving. Tony shook the thought out of his head as JARVIS informed him, "Dr. Banner has woken up, but his heart rate is exceedingly high. He appears to be moving to his safe room, sir."

"Thanks J," Tony ran his hands over his face, trying to figure out how to best help his friend as the elevator doors shot open. "Hey, Bruce," Tony moved slowly, not wanting to startle the physicist. He tried to make his noises obvious, but he didn't want them to sound menacing at the same time. "It's me, Tony, Bruce," he took a shuddering breath as he drifted down the hall. "JARVIS said you weren't feeling so hot." Fearful, panicked noises traveled into Tony's ears. "Hey, big man, it's okay. It's just us, we've got the whole tower to ourselves, we're safe. You in the other room yet?" he asked, trying to locate his friend. His own heart rate was trembling, not from fear of the Hulk, but rather the fear of losing his friend, either to the Hulk or to the remote edges of the earth. A noise of anxiety flashed through the floor and a door rattled, giving Tony his answer. No, no, Bruce was too far gone to have any real fine motor skills, which explained the rough noises forcing their way out of his throat. Bruce didn't have much control right now, if any. Tony could practically see the green warning flashing in his eyes in the ink black hallway. "Okay, big man, let's breathe together. In two, three, four, hold two, out two, three, four, five, six," he continued the pattern until Bruce was finally in his line of sight. Tony forced all the emotion out of his taut face and tried to breathe himself. He hunched down, trying to make himself as little of a threat as possible. He's read Bruce's file and from the dozens of traumatizing events that Bruce could've, and head every right to have, had a nightmare about, he had a feeling he knew which one. "Hey there Brucie, it's still just me, Tony. You hearing me all right over there?" There was no response, but Tony couldn't let that phase him, slowly, he moved forward. Bruce flinched, his fingers digging into his forearms as he shook, causing Tony to halt. He never wanted anyone to feel this way, he felt his heart aching at the thought of his friend being this scared, this broken. So he stopped, lowering himself to the floor, JARVIS slowly bringing up the lights. Tony's voice softened even further, something he hadn't thought possible. "It's alright, big man. I'll stay over here. It's okay, Can you talk to me, Bruce?"

A shuddered breath filled the room, so much control in the scared man's mind was being overridden and he forced himself to shake his head. Tony let out a sigh of relief, knowing that his friend could at the very least hear him, "That's okay, big man, that's okay. It's going to be fine. Everyone's safe, it's just you and me. We're going to be fine, okay?" The doctor shook his head again, trying to breathe, trying to keep his head above water, but even as those words were the exact opposite of what he expected, what he thought he deserved to hear, he still didn't trust himself enough to let his friend near him. "Aw, don't give me that Brucie, I just want to help, big man. I'm just here to help, we're going to be just fine, got it?" This time, he didn't wait for a response, knowing what he was going to get. "Can I come over to let you into your room, big man?" he asked, hoping that would let him bypass Bruce's misplaced protection. Finally, the physicist nodded, Tony breathed once more, before slowly bringing himself onto this feet, still crouching, he moved slowly to his friend's side. For Bruce's part, he had scrambled away from the door as quickly as possible, his nails digging into his palms now as he tried to maintain control out in the open. _I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare._ Tony tried to push that memory of Bruce's written off sorrow out of his head for the time being, like he had been for a while now. He wanted to confront Bruce about his low points, about getting help, about his God damned file. But the engineer was so scared that his friend would run, that he'd lose him. Bruce was shaking, which Tony hadn't paid much attention before in the dark hallway, but now saw the fear trembling through his shoulders, but it wasn't isolated, it was ripping through him along with the first tinges of green of the Hulk. His fingertips weren't that color normally, to say the least. The man's breathing was ragged, trying to follow some pattern Tony didn't know, and his knees were pushed up against his forehead. He was trying to so damn hard to keep it together, but Tony knew that nightmare wasn't like the others, this panic was new, recharged. 

Tony tried to move as fast as he could without scaring his friend, which ended up feeling like a single step for every hour that passed. Finally, Tony had opened the door, which he decided to be more automatic and less Bruce proof, and he stepped back, crouching low again to keep out of his friend's space. This whole time, he had been talking in his most reassuring voice, handing out small like, _'It's going to be okay'_ and _'I'll keep you safe'_ , to try desperately to keep his friend from Hulking out, and in turn running as far away as possible from the tower. Both situations seemed difficult to avoid at this juncture.

Slowly, once Bruce realized his friend wasn't going to try anything in that instance, he somehow pulled himself onto his feet and stumbled into the Hulk proof room, his anxious breath giving way to what seemed to be a stuttering recovery of breathing, he had managed to push himself all the way back into a far corner of the wall, colapsing into himself, the dim lights revealing a retreating green in his eyes and fingertips, his shoulders shaking in fear. His breath was fading, and he looked like he was going to collapse completely then and there. Tony didn't want that for anyone, let alone someone as innocent as Bruce. "Hey big man, you want me in or out?" Bruce didn't stop shaking. "Nod for in, shake your head for out, bud," Tony tried again, his voice softer than a whisper. There was nothing from Bruce for several moments, and Tony thought he'd lost his friend to the grasps of whatever he'd been dreaming of, but slowly, Bruce shook his head, his body spasming as he tried to take control of the Hulk once again, something reigniting in the man's memory. Tony thought this was going to be it for the rest of the night, either he was going to lose his friend, in more way than one, or Bruce would have to be coaxed out of the room later on, only to not see him for the rest of the next day. Rather, that's what Tony assumed would happen, this was the closest Bruce had even been to Hulking out while in the tower, sure he'd been in the safe room several times, due to his nervous demeanor in his first week there after the battle of New York. But those had all been false alarms, his eyes had really only gone green once, and only for a split second of fear.

This- This was different. Bruce was clawing at his arms, trying to keep the Hulk in, and his fingernails couldn't make a dent as the physicist's skin grew tougher. Now that he was inside the room, her was having more and more trouble keeping himself contained, and that terrified Tony. He didn't want to lose his friend, he didn't want Bruce to force himself to leave, after all the effort Tony had put into trying to make his friend feel comfortable, to feel safe. He didn't want to lose that after one bad night. A strangled yelp came from the other room, "Shut the," a closed throat's gasp for breath, "Shut the door!" Bruce forced out, his fingers ripping into his scalp, as if holding onto his hair for dear life could help him. Tony slammed the door shut at the thought, but cursed himself when he saw Bruce flinch through the reinforced glass. _The damn door,_ Tony lamented. _If only I'd designed the damn thing to be easier to use, he wouldn't be in there at all._ He shook his head in frustration. it had Bruce's idea to make the door a manual one, unlike every other door in the tower. He'd wanted to keep others out, but more importantly, Tony knew he'd wanted to keep himself in. Originally, Bruce had proposed the room to be his bedroom, the later his lab when Tony said no, his heart breaking at his friend's lack of trust in himself. Bruce had clearly wanted to live the rest of his life in that room after the battle of New York. And so he didn't want JARVIS to be able to let anyone else in. Bruce felt _so_  guilty about every casuality in the battle, even the ones clearly caused by the Chitauri.  _It's not right,_ Tony thought, shaking his head, glancing in on his struggling friend. He steeled himself for the all nighter as one final scream from Bruce gave way to the Hulk's roar. 


	2. Chapter 2

Inside the safe room, Bruce's whole body shook in fear of what he might do, what he had the uncontainable ability to do. He tried to breathe, he _swore_ he did, but nothing was moving out of his lungs and he didn't want his-

He ignored the thought and chose another.  _ Focus, you idiot,  _ he warned himself, feeling his whole body spasm as he fought. He didn't want to do this here, not when there were people close by, not when there was nothing to at least try and point the Other Guy's attention to when his opinion was long discarded. He knew that the Other Guy was going to destroy everything he'd worked for in the past few weeks that he'd been in the tower. He didn't  _ want _ to leave, but he couldn't risk people getting hurt. He'd already overstayed his welcome, that was clear enough. He felt his fingers close in on his hair again, trying to find something to ground him. But he was alone. He thought keeping the room as sparse as possible would be the best, but when the room was truly in use, as Bruce could feel it coming to that, the lack of things to destroy was overwhelming. The Other Guy was going to tear out the walls and kill  _ everyone _ . And there wasn't much Bruce had left to stop him. He could breathe, he couldn't think. Or rather, he was thinking about all the wrong things. Sweat poured down his back as something pushed against his skin from the inside. The was nothing left to hold the Other Guy back, Bruce was so distraught and he was no longer going to kill Tony immediately, there was nothing. Fear trickled through his body as memories of his father pulsed through his mind once again. The Other Guy was scared. He needed to protect the other  occupant of his body from an aggressor from a life long ago. A final roar rushed out of his body as the Hulk was unleashed. 

The room was small, confining. There was nothing that could be considered a threat other than that. The Hulk wasn’t used to this. He was used to darkened skies and weird looking pieces of metal shooting at him. He didn’t like this. He turned, trying to figure out why he’d been let out. There was nothing to fight. Two doors on separate walls seemed to be his fastest exit, but for good measure, he hit the ceiling and walls to see if they’d give way. They didn’t budge, which upset him. He tried again, trying to get at least a reaction out of the barren space, like he’d been able to last time. But last time, there were more than the single window, and he had been badly restrained. He hadn’t like that place, neither had Banner. The Hulk wanted out of the small room, but the walls weren’t giving. He turned his attention back to the doors. Only one had a window, and he thought that would make it weaker. As he crouch down to get a better angle, he saw a man outside. He frowned, roaring at the man to get his attention. He knew that man, which was odd for him. There usually weren’t people that he knew, and if there were, they usually ran faster than the others. He thumped down onto the ground, sitting. He tapped on the glass, wanting the man to do something. He got a strange smile in return. Voices came from the ceiling, telling him that the man outside said  _ ‘Hello’  _ along with a couple other words that he didn’t understand _.  _ The Hulk huffed, and moved to break down the other door. Sooner or later, he realized that they weren’t going anywhere, so he went in search for the voice. The man hadn’t left, but he looked weaker than before. The Hulk began pounding on the ceilings again, upset for reasons he couldn’t understand. If there wasn’t a threat then why had he been let out? Why had Banner been scared? 

Hulk growled a little at the thought. He was supposed to protect Banner, but there was nothing in the room for him to do. He didn’t like that. After a few more minutes of banging on the walls and ceiling, he even tried the floors for a bit, but there still wasn’t a scratch, he decided that Banner would be fine, he decided to go back to sleep with a final warning to whatever had hurt Banner before. 

 

Tony let out a sigh of relief, the Hulk wasn’t going anywhere. The soundproofing was state of the art, but his roars were still deafening from the safe room. Hulk didn’t look or sound all that determined to kill everything in sight. In fact, he looked a little confused on how he’d gotten into the room in the first place. After an hour or so of banging on the walls and ceiling, the Hulk had began trying to get through the doors. When he saw Tony, the confusion on his face was clear as he drove his finger against the window several times. Tony waved, trying to keep the nervous thoughts off his face, and told JARVIS, “Tell the big guy hi for me, and that he’s safe in there as long as he stays.” 

“Of course, sir,” JARVIS replied. The Hulk didn’t really react to Tony’s words, which he’d expected. Rather, the Hulk began trying to break down the other door in the room, which led into Bruce’s second bedroom, which Tony had dubbed  _ The Post Hulk-Out Care Center.  _ It was locked from the inside, so no one could get in unless they went through the safe room first, another way that Bruce had blatantly tried to isolate himself from the others. The door, which was to Tony’s left, was the only other door JARVIS didn’t have access to. Which meant Tony didn’t have access to it either, which rubbed him the wrong way. 

Nearly four hours later, Hulk finally seemed done trying to escape the room. He gave a final roar to Tony, which seemed to be a thing they had going, and then his body was slowly becoming Bruce’s again. Tony breathed a sigh of relief. It was now six in the morning, and Bruce was scrambling awake, glancing out the window where Tony peered through, not making eye contact. He appraised the room for a brief second, huffed, not dissimilar to how the Other Guy would, and then disappeared into the side room, his shoulders shaking once again, this time, Tony could only hope it was from the cold. 

Tony sits down in the hallway, not sure what to expect from Bruce this time around. He’d actually only seen the Hulk a technical two times, and seen Bruce after the Other Guy made an appearance once before now, after the Chitauri invasion. Bruce had only gone to shwarma later that night after an hour of Tony nagging, and even when he did go, he had only ordered a little bit of food, even though as he ate it, it became clear how much transforming took out of him. After that, he’d gone to stay at a hotel on the outskirts of the city, clearly upset that he’d have to stay in the United States at all, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had made it clear that he wasn’t leaving until  _ they _ approved it. Tony’s jaw worked at the memory. When Tony’d gone to visit him the day after the battle, Bruce refused to let him into the room, and he was there when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived to take him over to an office for debriefing. He sighed and pushed the memory away. It wasn’t doing him any good. 

“Hey J, what’s he doing in there?” Tony asked, trying to distract himself. “Dr. Banner has gotten dressed, and is now laying in his bed,” JARVIS reported. “Is he asleep?” he asked. Tony could practically hear the tutting from JARVIS as he replied, “No sir, he’s waiting for you to leave.” Tony ran his fingers through his hair, “How do you know?”  he asked. JARVIS was silent for a few moments, and Tony  _ knew  _ he was talking to Bruce. “He asked if you were still in the hallway, sir,” JARVIS explained. “You can tell him I’m not leaving until he does,” Tony replied, rubbing his eyes to keep himself awake. JARVIS didn’t give him a reply. An hour later, after Tony sending multiple unanswered requests and promises. “Fine, fine. J, tell him he wins. I’ll go. Tell him,” he paused, lips pursed, “Tell him I’ll be in the labs if he needs me,” after JARVIS confirms that Bruce acknowledged the message, he gets up to his feet, retreating down the hall, making good on his promise of being in the labs. “Tell me when he leaves, J. Tell me-” he bit his lip, trying to keep himself from going too far. He didn’t want to be the one to drive Bruce away, even if he did just want to help. “Just keep me updated, J,” he requested, shaking his head. “Will do, sir,” JARVIS said, but Tony could feel the AI judging him deeply, placing this new data into some algorithm that Tony didn’t remember putting into his system. 

He pursed his lips once again, “Yeah, yeah,” he shook his head. About fifteen minutes later, most of which including Tony opening his mouth and closing it because there were no words he could think of that would lure Bruce out, and all he could do was wait for Bruce to make the first move, JARVIS spoke. Tony’s head snapped open at the first “Sir.” His voice sounded tired, even if that wasn’t possible for the AI. “Yeah, J?” Tony replied. “Dr. Banner has fallen asleep,” he informed the engineer. “Thank God,” he muttered under his breath. “I suggest you do the same, sir,”  the AI advised. Tony shook his head, “No can do J, you know I’m waiting for him,” he replied, his jaw working. “Of course, sir. And if he’s not out within the next twenty-four hours?”

“He’s still in that room?” Tony asked, pushing away from his work, prepared to barge into the side room himself, when JARVIS interrupted, “Yes, sir. He requested that you didn’t bother him.” 

“He told you that?” Tony asked skeptically, sitting back down, putting his head into his hands. “It was implied, sir,” the AI promised him. “Fine, JARVIS. I’ll stay in here. Tell me when he get’s up, okay?” After JARVIS’s, “Yes, sir,” Tony shook his head, thinking about what Bruce could manage to do in there once he woke up.  _ Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his...  _

_ Back where? You rented my room,  _ Bruce had replied, clearly upset, but trying not to show it. He just wanted to help with the tesseract, he never wanted to come onto that ship, but he’d been scared of what the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would make the Other Guy do.  _ The cell was built...  _ Fury tried to explained. Tony remembered his jaw stiffening as Bruce flinched. He’d forced himself to look up, to fight back. Tony thought back to his file, and shook his head. No one should’ve had permission to hurt his friend like that, and to still leave so much fear behind.  _ In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried..!  _ Tony had felt shocked. Sure, he’d read the parts of his file written by the psychologist. He knew that they thought Bruce was at least a little bit depressed, but this?

  
_ I got low.  _ Tony never wanted that to happen to someone else again. Him trying had been bad enough, but Bruce too?  _ I didn't see an end,  _ Tony’d wanted to throw up in that moment. _ … so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the Other Guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good,  _ Were you Bruce? …  _ until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!  _ You’re not a risk, Bruce, you’ve never been a risk. The  _ Other Guy _ is barely a risk, Tony wanted to shout every single time that Bruce folded into himself, every time that Bruce left a room when there were more than ten people, that Bruce left the damn country because he thought he was nothing more than a risk.  _ What am I going to say to that idiot?  _ Tony thought.  _ ‘Don’t leave the country, I don’t want you to!”  _ Tony shook his head at the ridiculousness of the idea.  _ I can’t push him away. I have to keep him safe, keep him here.  _ Finally, Tony pulled out his tablet and began drafting an email. 


	3. Chapter 3

_Bruce-_

_First off, hey I was right, the safe room held, not even a dent in the walls, high five for us! And secondly, I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from right now. I know that you think that you’ve damaged me somehow from glimpsing at the Other Guy. I know you’re tired and have every right to be. I know you want to leave the country and that you’re embarrassed that this happened and you’re upset, maybe even a little bit, dare I say it?, angry with yourself. I know you’re not feeling so hot, because the Other Guy takes a lot out of you. I know that you want to hide in that room forever. I’m not going to stop you, Bruce. We designed that room for a reason, for you to hang out in after a transformation. But I also know how I feel after I have nightmares and panic attacks, and although I may not go green, I still feel like utter shit afterwards. I never want to talk to anyone either man, but I think it’d be better for the both of us if we talked about this._

_So, tell JARVIS what subjects you really don’t want to talk about them, he’ll match them with paragraphs in your S.H.I.E.L.D. file and he’ll tell me what it specifically is you don’t want to discuss, and I won’t mention it and you really won’t have to think of it. If I accidently get too close to something that’s a no-no, then we’ll get a conversation safe word and I’ll shut up, no questions asked. Reply with any rules about talking about this stuff that you have, I’ll attach a list with things I want to talk about, but I want you to feel safe first and foremost, Bruce. I don’t want you running of to the first third world country you see on a map, don’t think I don’t know that you always keep your passport on you. I want you to be happy here Bruce, because I know how hard it can be to feel like that. I want you to take care of yourself, I want you to be able to sleep through the night and get drunk without having to worry about changing. I want you to get close to people, and I’m not quite sure how selfish that is for me to say._

_If you’re up to it, and by no means do you have to be yet, you’re in complete control here man, but if you are, then I’d like to talk about whatever you’re comfortable with at dinner, around seven tonight, okay? If you don’t want to eat with me, we don’t have to, but I’ve found food a good thing to stare at when avoiding eye contact. But I am going to ask you (I know, shame on me, and all that jazz) to take care of yourself until we talk. I’m not going to lie, I have JARVIS on alert to tell me every time you fall asleep and eat and drink and all those things, and so far, I’ve gotten sleep. I want you to take care of yourself, Bruce. I want you to feel safe here. I’m sorry about this horrible timing and that we have to even talk about this at all, but I feel like we’re walking on eggshells with each other. If there’s anything you want to talk with me about, ask JARVIS, he knows which subjects I don’t talk about. Ask JARVIS about anything, I swear he’ll behave._

 -Tony

**_Attached:_ **

_Scratch anything off that you don’t like Bruce:_

__Last night:_ _

  * _I think the Other Guy recognizes me now… Thoughts?_


  * _I’m not sure if I did anything that helped other than letting you into that room…_


  * _What caused that? (If you don’t want to talk about it PLEASE don’t, but don’t worry about dumping your problems on me, I do it all the time to you, so shut up)_



_Future Plans:_

  * _Do you want more safe rooms on other floors? (It’s not a hassle and you know how I love remodeling)_


  * _Do you think we could condense it any and then put it inside a jet for when we’re in the field?_


  * _Is there anything else that needs to be in the side room?_


  * _Prevention techniques_


  * _What I could do better to help?_


  * _Getting the door to better open (I was thinking biometrics, but that could just be me)_


  * _Do you want anything in the safe room or no?_


  * _Needs a bit better soundproofing, but we knew that before_


  * _Past Events: (Only if you’re up to it, please don’t put yourself back into hell for me)_


  * _Re: What caused that?_


  * _Anything else I should know about before we move forward in this friendship?_



_Other:_

  * _If you leave this building before I talk to you Bruce, I will kill you myself_



 

He sent the email when Bruce didn’t come downstairs for lunch, editing a few key statements about Bruce taking care of himself beforehand. About thirty minutes later, JARVIS told him that Bruce was awake, and had checked the email. No reply came. An hour after that, JARVIS informed Tony, “Dr. Banner is on the phone with his S.H.I.E.L.D. handler, sir.” Tony cursed under his breath, “I forgot he even had one of those. It’s because he joined the Avengers, yeah?” Then, after a beat, “Never mind, what’s he saying?”

“Sir, Dr. Banner has security clearance six, giving him rights to all privacies, only to be overridden if he has intent on harming himself or others.” Tony pursed his lips at his AI’s reminder. “And he isn’t?” When JARVIS told him no, an idea popped into the engineer’s head. “The agent doesn’t have any clearance here, right J?”

“All humans that enter the Tower automatically have level one clearance sir, which gives them the privacy of non-repetitive phone calls and locked doors in the nighttime, sir,” JARVIS informed him. “Damn, who made these levels?” Tony asked. “You did, sir.” Tony huffed, upset at his AI’s, for lack of a better word, sass. “Remind me to redo those. Anyways, has the agent ever come into the Tower?” he tried again, praying for a loophole. “It was the same agent that brought Dr. Banner here after the battle of New York debriefing, sir. But no, she has never gone further than the parking garage, you pushed her out before then,” JARVIS explained. “Thank God,” Tony muttered, “Okay, gimme her speech. I’ll guess what Bruce is saying if I have to.”

“Very well sir.” The audio file, still being created, appeared on Tony’s tablet. He smiled to himself, and began pulling the words apart. By the end of the twenty minute phone call, it sounded like Bruce had apologized at least two hundred times, if not more, and that the physicist had absolutely no plans of leaving the room for the rest of his life. The agent, for her part, offered to come over no less than six times, and to have someone pick Bruce up at least double that. Eventually, it was decided that Bruce could stay at the Tower for the next forty-eight hours. After that, he needed to talk to a psychologist and get debriefed. All in all, Tony got the distinct vibes that Bruce felt like shit and would continue feeling that way until further notice. Which entailed, to Tony at least, that he needed to intervene, or else.

He got a reply three hours later, it contained a single sentence. “Please send all safe room blueprints and notes to S.H.I.E.L.D.” Not much to go on, but luckily, another email came seconds after that.

_Tony-_

_I’m so sorry you had to witness that last night. I was out of control, everything was driven by emotion, not logic, which is how the Other Guy got control last night. Again, I apologize that we ever needed that room. Thank you for helping me to get into though. I’m sorry I needed assistance at all. You are correct in thinking that I don’t want to see you right now, but it does seem our crossing of paths is inevitable. I do not need advice in how to take care of myself after a transformation, if I’m not doing just that, please don’t take it personally, I’ll try harder, I swear. But I would request that you don’t have JARVIS spying on me. It’s off putting. Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. If you have JARVIS stop reporting to you every time I blink, I’ll try to eat something, if you’re that concerned. I’m sorry that I can’t be of more help with all of this, but I swear, I will talk to you before tomorrow night._

_Unrelated, but I selected the word ‘maps’ as our safe word. (God that sounds so inappropriate, you have no idea). Thank you again. Attached is a list of the paragraphs that are fair game, a list of ‘rules’ that you requested, and a revised version of your own attachment. I’m sorry that we have to go through any of this, and that you lost sleep over it._

_-Bruce_

Tony shook his head and the apologies, and automatically told JARVIS to only tell him when Bruce was becoming a danger to himself, others or about to run away, which he should’ve done originally, but though Bruce needed more help than he actually did. In return, Bruce sent him a message through JARVIS that he had eaten. All in all, the email was pretty normal for Bruce, even if he sounded a bit more resigned than normal, but that could’ve been because he was exhausted. Tony opened up the attached files, trying to get a better read on what was going on in Bruce’s head.

_**Attached:** _

_Paragraphs 16-19, 23-41 and 44-49 are fair game, as far as JARVIS can tell. Please don’t bring up the psych exams that are included in the thing unless it becomes an absolute necessity._

**_Attached:_ **

_Rules:_  

  * __Please abide by the paragraph restrictions, I don’t want to talk about the others.__


  * _Don’t push right now, I’m tired and probably won’t make the best decisions._


  * _That said, I’m not stupid, act accordingly._


  * _I reserve the right to storm out of the room and not return._


  * _Stop having JARVIS spy on me, unless you think I’m low or about to lose control (of course, the two tend to coincide)._



_**Attached:** _

_I scratched things off:_

__Last night:_ _

  * _I think the Other Guy recognizes me now… Thoughts?_


  * _I’m not sure if I did anything that helped other than letting you into that room…_


  * _What caused that? (If you don’t want to talk about it PLEASE don’t, but don’t worry about dumping your problems on me, I do it all the time to you, so shut up) →_ ** _Please refer to paragraphs 7 and 21, and then never bring them up again_**



_Future Plans:_

  * _Do you want more safe rooms on other floors? (It’s not a hassle and you know how I love remodeling)_ ** _→ Can we have one on the lab floors? Or is that going to be in the way of something? If so, don’t do it._**


  * _Do you think we could condense it any and then put it inside a jet for when we’re in the field?_ ** _→ It’s probable, we can talk about this on another day, but if it’s pertinent, please don’t put it off._**


  * _Is there anything else that needs to be in the side room?_ ** _→ No._**


  * _Prevention techniques_


  * _What I could do better to help?_


  * _Getting the door to better open (I was thinking biometrics, but that could just be me)_


  * _Do you want anything in the safe room or no?_ ** _→ No._**


  * _Needs a bit better soundproofing, but we knew that before_ ** _→ We can talk about this on another day, but if it’s pertinent, please don’t put it off._**



_Past Events:_

  * _Re: What caused that? →_ ** _Please refer to paragraphs 7 and 21, and then never bring them up again_**


  * _Anything else I should know about before we move forward in this friendship?_ ** _→ You’ve read my file, S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t let one keep secrets easily._**


  * _Other:_


  * _If you leave this building before I talk to you Bruce, I will kill you myself_ ** _→ That wouldn’t go as planned, please never ask me to stay, I’m already in the way as it is._**



Tony shook is head as he read the loosely fitted self-deprecating comments, but he was glad Bruce had gone ahead and answered some of his questions. On the other hand, the way Bruce had copy and pasted showed just how worn out he was. Bruce loved original thought, and the ability to copy and paste seemed to only perpetuate the plagiarism in the world. “Tell Bruce that I’m okay with everything he’s said, and to stop apologizing, J. And tell him that I’m ready to talk when he is, I’ve already had even coffee to last me a week.”

“I’ll tell Dr. Banner, sir,” the AI replied as Tony pulled Bruce’s file onto his tablet. “You’re the best, man. Can you highlight the paragraphs I’m allowed to talk about?” he asked, draining yet another mug filled with coffee. He got down to reading. After his fifth or so cup while reading, it became increasingly clear that the nightmare Bruce had had preceding his change was either about his father or almost father-in-law, both of which Bruce didn’t have a happy past with. Although Tony’s hunch had been proved at least 50% right at first glance, it didn’t give the engineer any consolation. The paragraphs Bruce had mentioned as the source of his troubles described first Rebecca Banner’s gruesome murder, and later the experimentation that Ross had put him through the first time he had captured Bruce. Tony’s jaw clenched as he read the letters that spelt out just two of the numerous events in Bruce’s life that sucked more than anyone could imagine, to put it lightly.

At two thirty in the morning, JARVIS pipped up, Tony had since moved on to working out his emotions about the file that he had never wanted to read again the first time he’d hacked into it, and was even more worked up about now that he’d spent a few weeks with the man. “Dr. Banner has requested to speak with you in the common room and that you’d bring tea and, I quote, ‘So much fucking snack food that I’ll never want to taste any of it again’, sir,” JARVIS informed him. “We’ll, at least he’s planning on eating something,” Tony grumbled. “Has he left that damned room yet?” he asked. “No, sir,” the AI replied. “Then tell him I’ll be waiting with Chinese take-out too,” Tony ordered. “Of course, sir.” Tony made his way down to the common floor, which was in the middle of all the Avenger’s apartments. He knew JARVIS had already ordered enough Chinese food to last them a month, or, if Thor came over, a day, so he set out to move their kitchen cabinets onto the coffee table. He had JARVIS start playing soft music, a combination of classic rock and Beethoven's symphonies, so that if their conversation wavered, it wouldn’t be silent in the room. After brewing some tea for Bruce and more coffee for himself, Tony sat himself down on the couch. Almost ten minutes ticked by, before JARVIS said, “He’s now in the elevator, on his way down, sir.”

“Now?” Tony asked. “He’s spent about an hour pacing around the side room, and then later the hallways, sir,” the AI clarified. “At least he’s coming,” Tony muttered, trying not to get his hopes up. He knew his friend was going to be nervous, but pacing for an hour? He wasn’t prepared for that.

About fifteen minutes later, the clock well past three AM at that point, Bruce shuffled into the living room, his eyes traveling up and down the floor, his shoulders hunched over his body, trying to make himself smaller. His hands fidgeted, brushing up against every piece of furniture, trailing against walls, fixing his shirt, taking his glasses off and then placing them back onto the bridge of his nose. He looked like he fall over and die if he stood up any longer, and his whole body sagged in defeat. Tony felt his heart sink. _You can do this, he needs this more than you do._


	4. Chapter 4

“Mr. Stark says that he is fine with everything that you said in the email, and to I quote ‘stop apologizing’. He is ready to talk to you when you are, and that he’s, again I quote, ‘already had even coffee to last [him] a week’,” JARVIS’s voice echoed from the ceiling, and Bruce flinched, despite the amount of time he’d spent in the tower. “Thank’s JARVIS,” Bruce muttered, biting his bottom lip. He was still sitting on the bed, weighted blankets that Tony had suggested to him pulled over his shoulders as he reread the emails. He still shook slightly from his nightmare, and his entire body was still sagging from the transformation. He felt his stomach tighten as he read the part of Tony’s email that suggested he eat something. As hungry as Bruce still was, he didn’t really think he could hold anything else down at the moment. And, even worse, he didn’t feel like he deserved the stocked cupboards inside that room. That was Tony’s food, Pepper’s food. They put it in there, sure, and they said that it was for him after he changed back, but he couldn’t remember the sincerity behind their words. He only thought about how he was a burden to everyone inside the tower, a liability, and above all else, a threat. He was in the tower until he was certain that Tony wouldn’t go off and get himself into trouble. He was in the country for as long as he had a handler holding him back. 

Bruce closed his eyes at that thought,  _ Agent Miller,  _ he remembered.  _ I have to go see her tomorrow or I’ll get in trouble and probably spend the rest of my life in a cage.  _ A small part of his mind, an unhelpful, but listened to one, informed him that a cage was most likely to be where he belonged, and that he was putting everyone at risk by not letting himself be taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. But he ignored it, with a bit more effort than he would’ve preffered. He bit the inside of his cheek as he continued the read through the emails. He didn’t want to go see Tony, not now, not ever again. He wanted to go to Malawi or Burundi, whichever one let him in the fastest. Those were places where he could actually be of use. Countries that had less places where the Other Guy could kill thousands unless he was feeling particularly determined. Those were places where he could experiment with ending his life without killing everyone in sight. Those places were safe, they were far away and that made it all the better. 

But every time Bruce tried to do everyone a favor and go to those places, Tony appeared in his way, pushing his buttons in all the right ways until he felt too guilty to leave the engineer and ended up staying for another week. He hated their cycle, but there wasn’t much he could do about it, because Tony had an omnipresent AI on his side and Bruce sometimes forgot which floor held his bedroom. Right now, though, the AI was the least of his worries. He had an actual human to deal with, and he couldn’t even force himself out of the bed again. Sighing deep within himself, Bruce shrugged off the blanket and got to his feet. But, once he was up, he couldn’t seem to stop. He had already eaten, if only to get Tony to stop having the AI spy on his and report his every movement. Earlier, he’d eaten a single slice of bread, because he was fairly certain he could keep it down, but now, he wanted more and he couldn’t bring himself to try anything else. The same went for water, he’d had a little bit earlier, but now he felt like he was going to over do it if he went to get some more. So instead, he paced the length of the room, every once in a while stopping to look at something he hadn’t seen before, but other than that, he repeated the same movements over and over. His thoughts followed along, giving him the same,  _ You don’t deserve any of this, you piece of shit,  _ train of thought that he’d had since he entered the tower for the first time. He blamed Tony for it, but only slightly. It wasn’t his fault that Bruce had been so easy to persuade, that he’d been so weak as to not be able to survive a week without the man. When all the fancy words and reasoning was whittled away, the only thought that was left was the fact that, more times than not, Bruce hated himself. He had every right to blame all his problems on others, but he considered himself the true issue the majority of the time, reasoning that he was all around a lesser human being the most, and hence he needed to pay penance for that. He owed the world something, in his mind. He owed his mother her life because his father’s behavior was his fault. He owed all those that took him after those days because he had no way to take care of himself, after he lost his mother. He owed Ross because he wasn’t good enough for his daughter, and he joined the damned project that created the Hulk to help pay for that. He owed Betty, because he could provide for her the life she wanted, he had to hurt her and run away like a never ending cycle. He owed all of the Avengers because he endangered them every time they were within the same building as him. He owed the world for the same reason. The best he could do was play doctor in third world countries before he lost control again and killed half their population. 

But worst of all, was that he couldn’t even stop himself past a couple of breathing exercises here and there. He couldn’t kill himself, let alone the Hulk and whenever he tried, someone else always ended up getting hurt. 

But for some reason, Tony still wanted to see his face, he wanted to talk to him, and as irritable and guilty and overall wrung out Bruce was right now, he was still going to try and get some of the red out of his ledger, as Natasha would’ve put it. Before he realized what he was doing, he’d sat back on the bed and took a few calming breaths. 

“Hey, JARVIS?” he asked. “Yes, sir?” the AI replied. “Can- can you tell Tony, if he’s still awake. If he isn’t, this can wait. But can you tell him that I can meet him in the common room if he still wants to. And if he could, I’d like to take him up on the offer of food.”  _ Fuck off, Banner, you know you’re enough of a dead weight, but now you’re going to leech off them even more.  _ “I’ll tell him sir, he’s still awake. Can I ask what type of food you’d prefer?”  _ Tell him nevermind. Tell him that you’re good, that you’re not hungry.  _ “So much fucking snack food that I’ll never want to taste any of it again,” Bruce replied before he could even really process his own thoughts. All he knew was that he needed out of the tower, and the fastest way to do that, it seemed, was to do everything Tony wanted. “Mr. Stark says that he will also be bringing Chinese take-out. He is heading to the common room now, sir.” Bruce nodded silently for a moment, before taking his head in his hands for a brief minute of existentialism. 

He wasn’t completely sure how long it took, but at some point in his manic pacing, he’d convinced himself to get into the elevator, riding down with dead building up in his stomach.  _ You’re just wasting his time,  _ his mind reminded him,  _ You should’ve done the smart thing and left hours ago. He’s right, even now, you have your passport in your pants pocket, but you’re so eager to please one man that you can’t protect him. So what if the room worked this time. JARVIS showed you the footage, the Hulk wasn’t even trying. He was bored more than anything else. You know that Banner, even if you won’t admit it.  _ Bruce felt his whole body droop as he was reminded of each of these facts. He wanted to turn the elevator around that instant and never talk to anyone again, but instead, he stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened and he forced himself to enter the living room. It was worse than he expected. 

“You okay, man? ”Tony asked, clearly refraining from using any nicknames that referenced Bruce’s alter. He shook his head, but his mouth breathed out the words, “I’m fine,” in defiance to the involuntary movement. “Okay. Here’s your tea, there’s more in the kitchen. I’m ready when you are.” Bruce took the tea as an indication to come closer, which he did, grasping the mug in two hands. He lowered himself to the couch, trying not to reveal how weak he felt at the moment. “Go ahead,” Bruce whispered, now aware of how sore his voice was from the Other Guy’s roars. “It’s not like I’ve got anything else to do,” he muttered, taking a sip of the tea. It didn’t seem like Tony had messed it up. “I’ve got snack foods up the wazoo, just like you asked. Take your pick.” Bruce could barely bring himself to look at the coffee table that was now coated with salt and saturated fats compressed into colorful shapes and then dumped into the bags. He felt his stomach rise in his throat, “I’m fine,” he repeated. “Hey man, you’re the one who asked for this stuff,” Tony replied, holding his hands in mock surrender. “Sorry,” Bruce muttered, pushing his head into his hands. “You’re good, man. Anything you want, it’s yours, man.” He paused, “Anyway, I- uh- I printed out the revised list, if you want to get started?” Tony asked and Bruce nodded a little too quickly. Tony picked up the sheet of paper, “Like I said in the email, I think  the Other Guy recognizes me.”

Bruce breathed deeply for a moment, “I wouldn’t put it past him. He- um, he’s smarter than he looks and… acts. He’s seen you twice now, and that’s almost halfway to the record.” He laughed without substance, “It shouldn't be a big deal. It could probably help if we have future cases.”  _ God I hope we don’t,  _ Bruce thought,  _ Hopefully I won’t be here next time.  _ “Okay. Cool,” Tony responded, “Anyways, next is how I can help when you’re in those kind of 

situations,” he read off the sheet. Bruce shrugged. “Come on, you’ve got to give me more than that, Brucie,” Tony chided. “Don’t call me that,” he replied, looking at his hands. “Whatever you say, man. Is there anything I can do?” he slowed down his words, trying to make it clear what he wanted. Bruce shook his head, “I wasn’t really… there last night. When there’s nothing to ground me, it’s… messy. Sorry.” Bruce brought the cup to his lips, his fingers shaking. 

“Hey there, bi- Bruce,” Tony said, pulling the cup away from his friend, “Let’s set that down, there.” Bruce’s shoulders shook and he took gasping breaths. “I’m sorry,” Bruce offered again, “I’m sorry, I don’t normally do what I did last night, but for some reason my subconscious was thinking about those paragraphs that I sent to you and-” Tony switched seats, putting himself right next to Bruce. “It’s okay, Bruce. It’s okay.” Tony tried to hold his friend back, knowing he was bound to run away at any moment. “Just breathe with me, Bruce. I’m not judging, I don’t want you to feel like you’re not safe here, because you are. It’s okay Bruce. You’re going to be just fine.” Tony continued the sentiments as he slowly rubbed Bruce’s shoulders. 

“I- I want to keep talking about this stuff,” Bruce practically begged, every cell in his body wanting to shake Tony’s hands off him, not wanting to taint the engineer.  _ I want to get this over with  _ seemed to be what the doctor really meant to say. “Just give it a minute man. I’ve got all day. You’re doing just fine, man,” Tony promised his friend, trying to keep everything about him as calm as possible. Bruce took a few grounding breaths, before reaching out for the paper. “Prevention techniques,” he real, his voice riddled with emotion. He quickly glanced at Tony, “I don’t think there are many, not with something as… extreme as last night was.” His eyes flitted away, his voice heavy, tired. “We can pick this up tomorrow man,” Tony nearly begged, “I think you should get some rest, work some things out in your brain, yeah?” 

“I’m fine,” Bruce finally forced himself to shake Tony’s hands off him, his shoulders still shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut, “Read the next one,” he ordered. Tony swallowed, “What can I- are you sure-” Bruce nodded, so he continued, “Can,” he cleared his throat, “Can I do better to help you?” he recited, concern dripping through his words. Bruce continued to breath forcefully, “The- the door thing,” he pushed out, “Sooner… in the room, the better.” It was now clear that Bruce was trying to hold back tears from whatever he’d thought of when Tony’d been speaking. “Okay. I’ll work on that. But right now, we’re going to go eat some food, drink some water, go back to bed.” Bruce shook his head, following his shoulder’s repetitive motion. Tony had his hands back on his shoulders and back, methodically rubbing the tension out of them. “No,” Bruce begged, repeating the word several times as Tony shushed him, pulling the physicist to his feet. “There we go, Bruce. Off to the kitchen,” he murmured, guiding his friend across the space. He settled him down on the island stools, the doctor’s body still crumbling around his stressed mind. Eventually, Tony made eggs and toast for him, and talked to him nonsensically for the duration that it took Bruce to eat. “All done,” Tony promised, taking away his dishes. He spoke softly, similar to the way most would speak to a spooked child. He led the man back to the elevator and JARVIS sent it to Bruce’s floor. “I’m glad you came and talked to me, but I’m sorry that I pushed you. I should’ve waited for you to be ready, not me,” he admitted to Bruce, who for his part was mildly out of it and leaning sleepily against the elevator wall. When the doors slide open, they went over to Bruce’s real bedroom. 

“Tony?” Bruce asked, standing is his doorframe. “Yeah, man,” Tony asked, feeling his own exhaustion begin to weigh on him. “I- I want to stay,” Bruce said. “I don’t want to go off to some third world country. Not right now. I want to work with you and the others and, and-” As Bruce took a shuddering breath, Tony interrupted. “You've got it big guy. You can stay here as long as you like,” he promised. And for once, it was a promise he wanted to keep.


	5. Chapter 5

The  next morning, Bruce came down the elevator to find Tony sleeping on the couch of the common room, all the junk food cleaned up and only the list was left witness of what had occurred the night before. Despite himself, Bruce picked up the sheet, reading back through what he’d said when he was still working on almost no sleep and too many emotions to count. To himself, everything still seemed about right, and he felt a small surge of happiness in knowing that he could make judgements even in his panic and embarrassment from the night before. Only one reply that sat on the paper was wrong.

__ Other: _ _

  * _If you leave this building before I talk to you Bruce, I will kill you myself_ ** _→ That wouldn’t go as planned, please never ask me to stay, I’m already in the way as it is._**



 

He frowned a bit as he read it again, remembering his words to Tony that promised quite the opposite.  _ I- I want to stay. I don’t want to go off to some third world country. Not right now. I want to work with you and the others and, and-  _ He'd told the truth, a rarity unto itself when it came to these types of situations. He did want to stay, but he still wasn't completely sure if that was appropriate, and even worse, he'd referenced that he wanted to continue to work with the Avengers, something that was never meant to be said out loud. Bruce tucked his head into his hands.  _ Maybe he won't remember me saying that. Maybe he'll think he made it up, he was working on less sleep than me, that  _ has  _ to count for something, right? _

_ And besides, it's not like he can hold any of that against me. It was three in the morning and both of us were emotional and tired and- The only reason I wanted to talk to him last night was because I didn't want to talk to him now. I wanted to get it over with, and then he wouldn’t let me. He,  _ Bruce paused, glancing down at the engineer, frowning.  _ He took care of me… He cared. Cares,  _ he amended after a moment when his thoughts had slowed down. He gazed at the engineer, at his… friend. The word tasted weird in his mouth, having been unused since college, it felt. “Thank you,” he whispered, turning to leave. “You better not be off to the airport,” Tony grumbled, not opening his eyes. “I- I’m not,” Bruce mumbled, “I was just going-”

“Yeah, whatever,” Tony interrupted. “Get back over here and take a seat,” the engineer ordered, blinking his friend into focus. Bruce smiled weakly, and shuffled over anxiously. He wasn’t sure what Tony wanted, but he knew that he wasn’t going to regret listening to him. He knew that Tony wasn’t like the others, he would never purposefully hurt him. Bruce knew he could trust Tony, even if most would scoff at the idea. Bruce slowly lowered himself down next to his friend while Tony pulled himself into a sitting position. “I’m glad you’re going to stay,” he began. “I know that the past twelve hours or so haven’t been your best and I know that it’s neither of our faults, but I still feel really sorry about everything that happened and I want you to know that if last night wasn’t a one off thing for you, then it won’t be one for me either.” Tony paused for a moment, thinking through his next words, which Bruce was fairly certain that was the first time the engineer had ever done that. “I’m really glad you’re here and that we’re friends. I’m happy that you feel, as far as I can tell, that you feel safe here. I’d do anything in my power to always have you feel that way,” he concluded, looking back into Bruce’s eyes for a moment. Slowly, he saw the man nod, trying to process the words himself. “Thank you,” he repeated, his voice thickening with his gratefulness. Tony flashed him a smile, before moving on with the words, “Now let’s eat and run explosion simulations in the lab,” he joked. Bruce smiled brightly for the first time in what felt like his childhood before his father got bad. The pair journeyed off into the kitchen, feeling more in sync than ever. 

 

But Tony was right, the night before was not an isolated event, all the variables causing it couldn’t be tacked onto an access and explained, the cause and effect almost never made since. There would be times when Bruce couldn’t be tethered to the tower, and he would end up in Zimbabwe three weeks later with a quick phone call saying he was ready to come home. And although it scared Tony shitless, he knew that he’d have to flow with it, he had to remember that Bruce always came back, whether it be four days later or four months. Bruce would still have bad nights, bad weeks sometimes even bad months. But Tony was always right there on the sideline, picking him back up. Bruce wasn’t always going to be okay, but he just had to hang onto the upswing as long as he could. He fought with the Avengers when it was called for and he worked in R and D as often as he could. He tried to pay his penance from home. He tried to save the world when he could, he tried. And that was what mattered the most to Tony, and sooner or later the rest of the Avengers. Bruce slowly let them all in and they did the same. 

Bruce might always be a flight risk. He might always be a danger to himself and on very bad nights, sometimes even others. He himself might not always know what variables caused him to get low and to have bad nights, but he did know that he was no longer alone. He knew that he had a new variable in his life's equation. He had to divide every bad night by his friends, and he had to multiply every good one by the same quantity that only seemed to grow as his bad nights decreased. The inverse relationship was better than any he could hope for. He would never be able to isolate the variables of his past, and maybe he didn’t need to, but he did know that he had reasons for hope, to forget. He was happy and he finally didn’t feel guilty about it. 

Maybe Bruce could be out of control at times, he could be driven by emotion, not logic. But that no longer meant the Hulk could take control. Maybe he was safe. Maybe they didn’t need that room anymore... 


End file.
